Looking for a job where every day is genuinely different and where you can have an impact?

You’ll be hard pushed to find a role as rewarding as a Police Officer. You’ll have vital and unique role within your community; preventing and responding to crime, working to help and protect vulnerable people and using your skills to bring to justice for victims.

With our new entry routes providing you the opportunity to gain a fully-funded degree or Graduate Diploma, with a good starting salary and opportunities to specialise and progress your career, what are you waiting for?

As a police officer, every day will be different. It is one of the most fulfilling, challenging and varied roles you could do.

In your shift you could be carrying out a search warrant, arresting a drug dealer or being a reassuring face to a victim of abuse. Your next shift you could be patrolling a public event, interviewing a suspect in custody or collecting vital evidence. No one will know what your shift will bring, but we do know you won’t get bored.

Policing is not purely about enforcement, your communication skills and ability to build relationships with the public will be key. You will need to be caring and compassionate, dealing with victims of crime, witnesses and vulnerable members of our community. In a fast paced environment you will need to be prepared for the unexpected and always be calm under pressure, making critical split second decisions.

There are many opportunities to progress through the ranks and/or specialise in an area of policing that interests you. You can become a detective or join the Tactical Firearms Unit; be part of the Roads Policing Unit or one of our Public Protection teams as just a few examples of your options.

Wherever you decide to take your career, we will support you and help you develop to be the best officer you can be. Your development starts from day one and our new entry routes and training programme will give you all the skills and knowledge you need to be an effective police officer.

Our new entry routes into Surrey Police will equip you with the skills and experience you need to meet the demands of modern policing and have these recognised with a fully funded degree or Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice.

Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) – join as a police officer and achieve a BSc (hons) degree in Professional Policing Practice whilst you train, fully funded by Surrey Police. This is a three year, work based, practical and vocational degree and is not focused on essay writing. You will receive a starting salary of £23,380 (£20,880 plus £2,500 South East allowance).

Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) – launching in 2020 and aimed at those who have a degree in any subject. In your first two years, you will achieve a Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice whilst you train as a Police Officer. You will receive a starting salary of £26,677 (£24,177 plus £2,500 South East allowance).

Ahead of the DHEP being launched in 2020, recruits with degrees may be offered places on the PCDA.

You can find out more about the Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) and the new entry routes into Policing in England and Wales at the College of Policing’s website.

Have been a UK resident for the past three years. (If you do not currently fulfil the criteria this will be reviewed on a case by case basis, please contact the recruitment team for further information)

Be a British or Commonwealth citizen, or an EC/European Economic Area national, or a foreign national whose stay in the UK is unrestricted

Hold a current full UK manual driving licence

Be prepared to work shifts including nights, weekends and bank holidays

Not have any tattoos that cause offence. (Please contact the recruitment team for further advice)

Be a serving, or previous, PCSO or Special Constable with any force and have independent patrol status (IPS). Internal applicants will need to have completed their tenure before being given a final offer but this does not affect being able to apply before completing this. Previous service is a minimum of 18 months service and left no longer than 18 months ago.

Previously served in the military, armed forces or similar law enforcement agency, have successfully completed the minimum term of service and have an exemplary reference (previous service in military or armed forces is a minimum of 2 years within the last 5 years).

Previously served in another emergency service role considered to be operational by Surrey Police for a minimum of 2 years within the last 5 years and have an exemplary reference.

Be currently serving, or previously served, with any police force and are considered to be operational (Contact Handlers/Force Control Room Operative, Designated Detention Officer, Investigating Officer/Crime Investigator) and have completed 18 months service. Internal applicants will need to have completed their tenure before being given a final offer. Must have an exemplary reference (previous service is a minimum of 18 months service and left no longer than 18 months ago). Exceptions to roles listed will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Gained a Certificate in Knowledge of Policing

For the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship applicants must:

Have Level 2 functional skills or GCSE A-C (4-9) in both Maths and English

Academic entry criteria for the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP)

Applicants for the DHEP should have successfully completed, and be able to evidence, a UK undergraduate honours degree (360 credits) in any subject. Applicants with non – UK degrees can be considered if their degree is recognised as equivalent by UK NARIC but will need to provide evidence of an acceptable English language qualification if their degree was not taught and assessed in English

The recruitment process consists of a number of stages and it can take approximately 10-12 months from application to appointment.

The recruitment process includes the following stages:

Application Form – we will check you are eligible to apply

Online Assessments – you will take the Behavioural Styles Questionnaire and the Situational Judgement Test. These measure your typical behaviour and preferences at work as well as your decision making skills in a work environment. You do not need any policing knowledge or experience to successfully complete these.

‘Day One’ Assessment Centre – this is a national assessment centre which places you in the position of a police officer. You will complete seven exercises based which have been designed around realistic policing scenarios. You will need to achieve 55% or more to progress to the next stage.

In-Force Interview

Pre-Employment Checks

Fitness Test – you will need to obtain level 5.4 in the bleep test.

Medical – you will be required to complete a questionnaire with your medical history.

Biometric Vetting – we will take your fingerprints and DNA and check them against the appropriate database. We will also collect a sample of hair to test for the presence of inappropriate substances.

Vetting - this will assess you and your families’ criminal record, financial status and business interests.

Our ability to build trust, understand problems and support our communities across a range of policing matters, relies on us having a workforce that is reflective of our communities and all the unique individuals that exist within them. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity within our workforce and to eliminating discrimination.

We are very keen to encourage applications from those that have never considered policing as a career. Representation within our workforce from black and minority ethnic communities is currently much lower than we want it to be; by improving this we will be better able to serve our local communities and our work place will benefit from all the differences in thinking, points of view, and approaches that diversity brings.

We are actively working on a range of activities to improve this and one of the proactive ways we are seeking to increase representation is via a bespoke mentoring scheme which is aimed at guiding applicants from diverse communities through the recruitment process.

Apprenticeships are increasingly common and are recognised as offering a great way to gain hands-on experience while studying towards an industry-recognised qualification and earning a salary. Policing has been offering apprenticeships such as vehicle technicians, management, customer service and business administration for a number of years. There is now a fantastic opportunity to extend this offering across a broader range of roles and specifically to the sought-after role of a police officer.

We believe that by offering a degree-level apprenticeship we can ensure policing remains an attractive and competitive career option. We hope that along with other new entry routes it will appeal to those who may not have considered policing to be a viable choice for them in the past. Specifically with the PCDA we hope that people will be attracted to the earn-while you-learn principles of an apprenticeship and/or the attainment of a recognised qualification that will be equally as valuable in the future to those who stay within policing as to those who move on to different ventures.

No, you do not need a degree to join the police service. The College of Policing have reviewed the curriculum and found that the knowledge, skills & experience required for the role of a police officer meets the same standard as a degree (equivalent to a Level 6 Qualification). Therefore the new curriculum that underpins all future learning and development programmes is reflective of this. This is very similar to the practice-based student nurse apprenticeships that have been in place within the healthcare sector for a number of years.

There will be new entry routes that allow those who already hold a degree to undertake a two-year learning and development programme to become a police officer. However the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) has been specifically designed as an entry route that allows individuals to join as a police officer without holding a degree upfront; they will simply gain one on completion of their programme in recognition of their achievements.

For all new applicants to Surrey Police the CKP will no longer be a requirement as the learning previously covered within this course is now delivered as part of all new entry programmes, including within the PCDA.

If you already hold the CKP you are still eligible to apply for all new entry routes.

New police constables joining via the PCDA entry route will receive a starting salary of £22,870 (base salary of £20,370 plus £2,500 South East allowance). Base salary increases annually and police constables who successfully complete the three-year development programme shall earn £28,288 (base salary of £25,788 plus £2,500 South East allowance). Typically police constables with seven years’ service can expect to earn circa £40,000 with additional contribution for travel.

In line with national Police Pay Regulations if you already hold the CKP or have relevant service as a PCSO or Special Constable then this prior learning/experience will continue to be recognised in the starting salary that you will receive. If applying for the PCDA you will receive a starting salary of £26,086 (base salary of £23,586 plus £2,500 South East allowance).

Surrey Police expects to offer an alternative entry route for recruits who already have a degree (in any subject). The Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) is a two-year work-based programme, supported by off-the-job learning. Upon successful completion of the programme you will achieve a Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice.

Ahead of the DHEP being launched in 2020, recruits with degrees may be offered places on the PCDA.

Job profiles

I used to work as a recruitment consultant but I didn’t want to work in an office anymore. I was very much in the rat race rather than helping anybody.

I realised I had a lot of transferable skills, for example being able to interview people.

When I joined I assumed I would be a response officer forever. I didn’t know what detectives did. But I have many careers within a career since.

If you ever get to the point where you need a change there’s such a wide range of roles, there’s something for everybody.

Some people might have a passion as a detective in child protection, but I like putting away the armed robbers and drug dealers.

You have the ownership to be able to investigate a case and it can take you all over the country. When you get a good result in court it’s such a satisfaction, not just for the officer but because you can tell a victim that they are safe.

You can find out more about the day-to-day life of a detective at Surrey Police by following the @SurreyDetective Twitter account.

“The jobs we work on are really interesting and when a job comes in, it’s a proper team effort. As detectives we work on the things you join to be involved in, where you get to put away really bad people for a long period of time. Looking back, I wouldn’t have done anything else.”

“To be a detective, you have to be dogged and not let things lie. You also have to be organised. The best thing for me is seeing something through from the start to finish. The case that stands out for me is a violent attack. After lots of hard work and thanks to the bravery of the victim, the main perpetrator was jailed. To go to the victim’s house and give her that news was a great, great feeling.”

“I transferred to Surrey Police from the Met last April. I was working on child abuse before but I wanted to have a change and move into a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as this was an area I had not worked in before.

“The great thing about CID is that you work as part of a team, whereas before I was often on my own. In CID you are given a job to work on together and you can celebrate your successes together.

“Surrey has various benefits – it offers a lot in the way of financial motivation. You get financial rewards when you pass the different stages of exams and when you finally get signed off as a detective.

“Surrey is obviously a much smaller force than the Met but it means you get to know everyone which is lovely.”